No More COVID-19 Statistics Announced from Today Until Sunday... "Stabilization Trend"

The quarantine authorities will announce the COVID-19 statistics, which were previously released daily at 9:30 a.m., six days a week excluding Sundays starting from the 26th.

The Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) recently implemented changes to the statistical reporting system, considering the stabilization trend of the COVID-19 outbreak. They have modified the way indicators such as confirmed cases, severe cases, deaths, tests, and vaccinations are provided. Accordingly, statistics for Sundays will be provided together on the following Monday. Statistics for public holidays can also be checked on the day after the holiday. A CDCH official explained, "Since excessive resources were being invested in daily statistical tasks that are not crucial for establishing quarantine strategies, we restructured the statistical reporting system to focus on core tasks." Currently, to announce nationwide COVID-19 statistics daily, related agencies including local governments must input the status of confirmed cases and other data into the quarantine indicator system during nights and holidays of the previous day.

Since the first confirmed COVID-19 case in Korea on January 20, 2020, the authorities initially announced the status of confirmed cases twice a day, in the morning and afternoon. From March of the same year, they have provided related statistics once daily based on midnight data.

As COVID-19 shows signs of transitioning to an endemic phase, major countries around the world no longer release COVID-19 statistics daily. This is because the situation has stabilized and the fatality rate has decreased since the Omicron variant, reducing the need for daily statistics. Countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia release COVID-19 statistics on a weekly basis.